Why protect the
Arctic Refuge?
“Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit”
- The Sacred Place Where Life Begins
Every year, we hunt caribou during their migration through the Arctic Refuge. We depend on a successful hunt for food to help us get through the isolated winter months. This long-standing tradition is not just cultural or practical for us. It is both, forever intertwined as a way of life that we must maintain for the survival of our people. It is the definition of interconnectedness. Without food, without the practice of our hunt, without our ability to live connected to the land, we lose what it is to be Neets’ąįį Gwich'in.
This is who we are.
Where is the Arctic Refuge?
The Arctic Refuge spans over 30,000 square miles in northeastern Alaska. This undeveloped land is designated as a Wildlife Refuge by the United States Government.
What is a Wildlife Refuge?
The United States Wildlife Refuge was created in order to "administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of the present and future generations of Americans" (National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997).
“Traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering is more than what Alaska Natives do; it embodies who they are as a people as traditions are passed down from one generation to the next. This way of life provides for the cultural, spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and economic well-being of Alaska Natives.”